Meet Agnès from the Cambridge Baby Team

June 6th, 2012

Being Part of the Team

Agnès loves being part of the team here at Cambridge Baby. She works with Rosy and Wendy in the Good Natured shed and is pictured here in her favourite Engel top sold here at Cambridge Baby.

Before working at Cambridge Baby Agnès never expected to work in retail.What attracted her to Cambridge Baby was the care that is put into the clothes that we sell (see her blog post The Little Touches). What makes her job so worthwhile is her passion for high quality, ethical, and eco-friendly clothes that have the comfort and practicality of the wearer in mind.

Her Cambridge Baby Roles

Agnès loves the variety of her roles in the Good Natured shed.

  • When receiving your Cambridge Baby clothes it is likely to have either been picked or packed by her....
  • When you phone up with a query you may be helped by her...
  • And when you found Cambridge Baby on the first page of google Agnès's computer skills helped it get there.
  • Her passion and talent for implementing effective procedures for incoming deliveries are specially appreciated by the rest of the team.

She is also the lucky person who gets to share customer quotes with the world. It makes her day receiving lovely comments from people like you who really appreciate the difference these natural fibre clothes make to the comfort and happiness of their little ones and themselves. In her own words “Feel free to keep sending them in!”

French Teacher Extraordinaire!

After leaving the Good Natured Shed at lunchtime she zips around Cambridge giving French lessons to children and adults alike, both in person and over Skype. Her enthusiasm for helping others enjoy the French Language is infectious. For more info see her ‘French For All’ website, where you can also discover more about her French Translation services.

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Disana’s secrets of success

March 5th, 2012
TheDisana organic Merino wool dungarees and jumper News is in, and it is official...  the best seller this Autumn/Winter season has been the Merino Wool Trousers or Leggings by Disana. Disana is one of our all-round top brands - so what are they doing right, and what makes them so special? Disana began 25 years ago - in a garage.  When they started their company, Dieter and Imma Sautter combined their initials D and I with the word Sana, which is the name of the ancient goddess of health and healing – very apt for Disana's natural ethos. Disana now supply shops around the world with organic wool baby and children's clothes and is still growing steadily, carrying with them this vision of health and healing through clothing.

Secrets of success

Disana are committed to high quality, natural raw materials and specialise in organic Merino wool.  They are a founding member of the International Association of Natural Textiles (IVN) and are proud of its guidelines for natural textile production; these are recognised as the most comprehensive, strictest guidelines in the world. In fact, Disana was one of the very first companies to have most of its clothing certified by IVN as BEST, indicating organic textiles of the highest ecological quality.  Its range is also GOTS certified as organic too at a time when organic wool is still hard to come by.

Fairly made and traded

DisanaDisana's commitment to high standards includes fairness throughout the supply chain and their excellent craftsmanship shows throughout their organic clothing range. The fabrics used in Disana’s wool clothing are produced either at their premises or within a 100km radius in long-term partner factories, ensuring good working conditions and making for good relationships and excellent quality control.  This is Herr Heinz Munz in the workshop, who is very proud to be in our blog 🙂 And as you can probably guess, everything that goes into each piece of clothing is is subject to strict regulations, from the sewing thread and buttons to even the lubricating oil in the knitting machines - everything must be environmentally friendly.

Designed for little ones

Disana Boiled Wool Fabric

Each Disana piece is designed to keep a little one comfortable and healthy, which makes Disana stand out from the crowd when it comes to design.   For them it's all about the baby, the baby's comfort, health, freedom to wriggle, crawl or walk. Disana's clothes allow the skin to breathe and the body to relax, and parents to know that their little one is being looked after by real living wool.

So, thank you to Disana for providing us with the choice of natural, healthy and sustainable clothing.  We at Cambridge Baby and Good Natured Clothing love what you do, you're totally in accord with our ethics and we are proud to carry your organic wool clothes.   ♥ ---------------------------------- Win a £20 Gift Voucher!  Comment on this or any of our blog posts in March, and we'll randomly select a winner on 1st April.  Share or link to a blog post for bonus entries! ---------------------------------

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Why is wool good for you?

March 2nd, 2012

Organic Merino Wool Baby Blanket by DisanaYou've probably noticed we use expresssions such as "breathable" and "regulates body temperature" a lot at Cambridge Baby.  Wool is naturally an amazingly clever fibre and here you can find out how and why.

I'm going to explain how wool can
  • breathe, absorbing water vapour from the body and releasing it into the atmosphere
  • dynamically respond to the environment
  • help regulate temperature
  • clean itself (oh yes!), and
  • repel rain (think: sheep).

The magic of wool

The magic of wool lies in its structure. Wool consists of three layers.
  • The inner layer or core is keratin, a moisture-loving protein that all animal hair has. It is designed to maintain a stable body temperature - to keep the body at a comfortable and stable temperature. Think how useful this is to babies, athletes and your own day-to-day living.
  • The second layer is a scaly covering. The overlapping scales are tiny, but as they rub against each other they push off the dirt. So it is self-cleaning, as anyone who's put their baby in wool knows.
  • A wool fibre's third layer, the top layer, is a filmy skin which keeps the rain out. Wool is quite water-resistant, as duffel-coat wearers and sheep can testify.
It gets even more amazing.

Wool breathes for youOrganic Merino Wool Hat by Disana

Now, the two outer layers of the wool fibre have tiny pores which allow moisture to pass through to the keratin core.  The keratin core can absorb this moisture.  So, if the temperature increases or the wearer becomes more active and begins to sweat, the moisture is wicked from the skin through the outer layers of the wool fibre into the central core. Then, your natural body heat then wicks it out towards the surface, where it is released into the atmosphere. In this way, it helps you and your baby maintain a stable temperature and keeps you and your baby dry and comfortable by absorbing and releasing sweat.

And wool is dynamic

Wool even does this breathing process "dynamically", which means it does it more when needed, and less when not needed.   It responds to the environment around it and does what's needed to the best of its ability. It's just the best thing, don't you think? No man-made fibre can equal this.

Looking after your woolOrganic Wool and Silk Baby Bodysuit

To keep these abilities, wool does need to be looked after. But with 99% of washing machines now having a wool cycle, this is quite easy. Just use a liquid detergent for wool, or a drop of your own shampoo, and set the temperature on your wool cycle to 30C and dry away from direct heat. Because wool is self-cleaning, wool clothes that haven't been treated can be hung out on the line and "aired" and will start cleaning and de-smelling themselves. In the next blog articles, I'll explain more of the wonders of wool: how wool is also naturally antibacterial, how it absorbs water without feeling wet, why it's stretchy and easy to wear, why it's fire-resistant and more.

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The Little Touches

February 8th, 2012
Often it's the little touches that make all the difference.  When choosing which clothes to stock, we look at attention to detail and particularly like little ideas that make life easier. Here are 5 little touches that we love.  You can WIN a £20 Cambridge Baby voucher by leaving a comment, and saying which is your favourite! 1.  The extendible bodysuit Babies grow quickly, so helping things last longer as your baby gets bigger is a great idea.  This wool/silk sleeveless bodysuit by Iobio has two rows of poppers so it's extendible and lasts longer, and is even better at handling cloth nappies.

Extendible Sleeveless Baby Body

Iobio's wrap-around bodysuit also has sleeves which can either be down as scratch mitts, with little hands tucked into them, or folded up as your baby grows.

2.  Leggings with a perfect fit This perfect touch is even simpler.  On all their wool and wool/silk leggings, German company Engel has included an opening on the inside of the waistband, which allows you to tighten or change the elastic without having to un-stitch anything.

Leggings with adjustable waist

So if you have a narrow-waisted child, you can easily shorten it as much as you need to for a perfect fit - and should the elastic break (not that that has happened yet!), it's easy to replace.  Simple - why doesn't everyone do it?

3.   Hand-stitched invisible seams Comfortable fabrics, comfortable cut and comfortable finishing create clothes that keep babies and children happy.  Comfort is at the top of the list with us - from top to toe.

Wool tights with seamless toes

Groedo hand-stitch the toes and heels of most of their organic cotton and wool socks and tights, creating "invisible" seams that can't be felt.  So these socks and tights never rub nor feel uncomfortable!  The German word for this is handgekettelt and we love this attention to detail. 4.  Removable labels Youngest Good Natured Team member, Connie (aged 4) always needs labels taking out, and it is annoying when they're stitched right into the seam, making it impossible to take them out cleanly.  Swiss brand Alkena make this so easy.  Alkena's biodynamic silk clothes have labels lightly stitched at each side, so that they can easily be removed.  Because it's so easy to do, it gets done sooner and little Connie is happier.  They do the same for adults too - thanks, Alkena!

Twist biodynamic silk top with removable label

5.  Stay-on hats "My little boy Phillip has worn it all day today in the park, and it fits so nicely he forgot he had it on. The design is brilliant ... and it really stays on." Mirjam, Cambridge.

Organic Sun Hat with Ties under the Chin to Stay On

Whether they're sun hats or woolly hats, baby hats really need to stay on.   We have always loved Pickapooh for making sure they do just that, with soft ties or poppers under the chin for long-lasting stayonability. "The best bit is that she forgets she's wearing it!" Lauren, Redhill, UK. And that's how all children's clothes should be. ---------------------------------- Win a £20 Gift Voucher!  Comment on this or any of our blog posts in March, and we'll randomly select a winner on 1st April.  Share or link to a blog post for bonus entries!

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